My last attempt (3 Viewers)

[SystemShock]

If David is right, he's going to heaven... If David is right, you are NOT going to heaven....

If David is wrong, he's going where we all go.... If David is wrong, you are going where we all go...

Work your logic on that equation.... Right or Wrong... the odds are with DR....

God Bless....

Good ol' Pascal's wager.

If one believes just in case, do they truly believe?

 

[JenningsTruckers]

I will bless those who bless you and will curse those who curse you. This is from God's word. If you are anti semitic you will be cursed. Look. I could give you a Bible lesson you wouldn't believe. I have studied it for almost 30 years. I'm a published Christian author. I love the Lord with all my heart. I just want everyone to be saved. Put down on me all you want. I'm big enough to take it.

I'm with you David , one hundred percent , never thought I would see the world & especially our country be in the shape it's in !

 

[You]

How so, if you don't mind me asking? To me, God would be so great as to be incomprehensible by our mere mortal consciousness. I guess that's why I'm drawn to a "religion" that doesn't bother with the idea of a God.

I’m not sure that I have the ability to articulate it.

As humans, we are different from other creatures. We have a consciousness. We can think. We can think logically but we can also think beyond reason. We can think in the abstract. We can conceive of an allmighty creator or ‘ god’

What would be the purpose of this ability to think? Furthermore, what would be the reason to think in the abstract?
What created this consciousness? Consciousness doesn’t exist in vain.

There has to be a meaning.

I’ll jump to the conclusion; it’s God.

 

[Booker]

Pascal's Wager in simple and more complex terms. One flaw in the simplified version is that it doesn't taken into account that there are more than one god. So what happens if one worships the wrong one, or even the right one but the wrong way (just consider how many different Christian denominations there are)? And the simple version also doesn't take into account that every second spent worshiping or attempting to please a non-existent god is a waste of one's finite lifetime.

 

[insidejob]

I’m not sure that I have the ability to articulate it.

As humans, we are different from other creatures. We have a consciousness. We can think. We can think logically but we can also think beyond reason. We can think in the abstract. We can conceive of an allmighty creator or ‘ god’

What would be the purpose of this ability to think? Furthermore, what would be the reason to think in the abstract?
What created this consciousness? Consciousness doesn’t exist in vain.

There has to be a meaning.

I’ll jump to the conclusion; it’s God.

Thanks. I appreciate the genuine answer.

 

[DaveXA]

Good ol' Pascal's wager.

If one believes just in case, do they truly believe?

I hate to do a "drive-by", but while Pascal's wager is nice sounding, as far as Christian apologetics goes, this is pretty low on the totem pole. I don't think I've ever used it for anything other than purely illustrative purposes. It's an interesting thought exercise at best, imo.

 

[superchuck500]

Yeah, that's exactly what I said.

Not quite. You said there was a Santa Claus.

Santa Clause is a bad Tim Allen movie.

 

[Consigliere]

One flaw in the simplified version is that it doesn't taken into account that there are more than one god.

 

[Brennan77]

I hate to do a "drive-by", but while Pascal's wager is nice sounding, as far as Christian apologetics goes, this is pretty low on the totem pole. I don't think I've ever used it for anything other than purely illustrative purposes. It's an interesting thought exercise at best, imo.

I think there's a subtlety to it that gets by most people. It's basically saying that the table is set. There is no neutral position. You have to play the game.

 

[Booker]

The fact that you can conceive of a god is proof that there is a god

I'm not sure how strong that argument is. Lots of gods have been conceived.

I’m not sure that I have the ability to articulate it.

As humans, we are different from other creatures. We have a consciousness. We can think. We can think logically but we can also think beyond reason. We can think in the abstract. We can conceive of an allmighty creator or ‘ god’

What would be the purpose of this ability to think? Furthermore, what would be the reason to think in the abstract?
What created this consciousness? Consciousness doesn’t exist in vain.

There has to be a meaning.

I’ll jump to the conclusion; it’s God.

Taking a contrary view, I would argue that our consciousness is simply the result of a highly evolved brain, and the "purpose" and "reason" we're able to think in the abstract is because it is a beneficial ability for survival. But when the neurons stop firing (either by death or severe brain injury), our consciousness is lost. I do agree that it doesn't exist in vain -- it exists to help you live your life -- but once your life is over it has served its purpose.

 

[SystemShock]

I hate to do a "drive-by", but while Pascal's wager is nice sounding, as far as Christian apologetics goes, this is pretty low on the totem pole. I don't think I've ever used it for anything other than purely illustrative purposes. It's an interesting thought exercise at best, imo.

I'm not sure why you are quoting me, as I didn't bring up Pascal's wager to begin with, but the question remains: if someone believes just to hedge their bet, do they truly believe?

 

[Infoman]

if someone believes just to hedge their bet, do they truly believe?

Agreed... and I am aware of the term... I brought it up just to be cheeky really. I don't subscribe to that train of thought/theory... I'm a believer.... and I'll leave it at that... I don't get into discussions about religion or politics... neither ever lead to anything meaningful.

 

[SystemShock]

I’m not sure that I have the ability to articulate it.

As humans, we are different from other creatures. We have a consciousness. We can think. We can think logically but we can also think beyond reason. We can think in the abstract. We can conceive of an allmighty creator or ‘ god’

What would be the purpose of this ability to think? Furthermore, what would be the reason to think in the abstract?
What created this consciousness? Consciousness doesn’t exist in vain.

There has to be a meaning.

I’ll jump to the conclusion; it’s God.

Non-humans can think in abstract terms and have consciousness too. It's been studied extensively and proven with primates, sea mammals... you couldn't train a dog if it couldn't think.

The idea of "god" didn't originate simply because we can think in abstract terms, but because early humans couldn't reason the why of natural forces, so they came up with the idea of "god" to explain things like rain, fire, etc. It really came about because of ignorance of how nature works. Today we know there isn't a god holding a trident sitting deep in the ocean, or a god throwing lighting bolts at Earth from space. But thousands of years ago, it seemed logical to them.

 

[DaveXA]

I'm not sure why you are quoting me, as I didn't bring up Pascal's wager to begin with, but the question remains: if someone believes just to hedge their bet, do they truly believe?

I wasn't providing a counterpoint, but rather piggybacking on your post since yours was the last post in the thread mentioning PW.

As to your question, I'd say not really, it's might augment existing belief, but I don't think it originates it.

 

[DaveXA]

I think there's a subtlety to it that gets by most people. It's basically saying that the table is set. There is no neutral position. You have to play the game.

That's a good point, but we're short on nuance and subtlety these days.